In printing systems, a color space describes how colors are represented by data. For example, a printer may have a CMYK output color space based on the use of Cyan, Magenta, Yellow, and Key black inks/toner (colorants) used when printing to media (e.g., paper). Print data used to generate the printed output may be based on a different color space, such as a RGB (Red, Green, and Black) color space. Because the color space of the print data (A RGB input color space in this case) is different than the output color space of the printer (a CMYK output color space in this case), a process is used to convert the input color space to the output color space during the printing process. This is done to ensure that the printed output accurately reflects the colors represented in the original print data.
Color profiles (e.g., ICC profiles as per the International Color Consortium standards) are often used to represent the output color space of printers. While one may expect that a printer may only have one color profile to describe the output color space, the converse is more likely. In printing systems, especially production printing systems, a wide variety of print engines and colorants may be installed and replaced within the printer depending on the printing needs of a customer. For example, a CMYK print engine may be installed along with dye based colorant for printing in one customer configuration, and then replaced with a monochrome print engine and monochrome ink for printing in another customer configuration. For a specific combination of engine and/or the colorant, a set of color profiles corresponding to the engine/colorant combination (and any media options when printing using the combination) is determined for the printer to ensure that the printed output (using the media options) accurately reflects the colors represented in the original print data. Also, a printer may have multiple print engines and colorants, with each combination of print engine/colorant associated with a potentially different color profile. For example, a top side of a sheet of paper may be printed with a monochrome print engine using dye based colorant, while the bottom side of the sheet of paper may be printed with a CMYK print engine using a pigment based colorant. Thus, one printing system may have dozens of color profiles for the printer, with each of the color profiles based on some combination of print engines and colorants that may be installed in the printer.
Prior to printing, a print operator determines a color profile corresponding to a currently installed combination of print engine and colorant at the printer. In some cases, the print operator may be presented with dozens of possible choices when attempting to determine the color profile for the printer. When the print operator chooses the wrong color profile (or profiles when multiple print engines are present on the printer), then unexpected and undesirable printing results occur. It thus remains a problem to accurately determine the correct color profile for a printer to ensure that the printed output accurately reflects the colors represented in the original print data.